Book Reviews : Religion in American Public Law. By DAVID FELLMAN. (Boston: Boston University Press, 1965. Pp. 113, $4.50.)
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
| Author | Clifford M. Lytle |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296601900123 |
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
163
inadequately
informed
and
emotional,
with
a
penchant
for
partisan
commitment,
seems
to
be
merely
adding
Ptolemaic
epicycles
to
lucid
explanation.
Edelman
here
seems
inadequately
to
distinguish
between
the
consumer
demand
of
a
public
opinion
both
rational
and
irrational,
which
can
only
partially
be
said
&dquo;to
generate
policy,&dquo;
and
the
legitimate
activity
of
a
government
in
selling
to
that
public,
by
methods
which
I
would
rather
call
advertizing
than
symbolic
(and
which
some
would
call
communicative
and
educational) ,
the
goods
of
policy
which
it
has,
as
a
going
con-
cern,
to
sell.
I
see
no
reason,
except
with
the
utmost
caution
and
ready
analysis,
to
introduce
the
Jungian
term
&dquo;symbol.&dquo;
&dquo;The
President&dquo;
is
indeed
a
symbol;
but
one
readily
enough
analyzed.
Let
us
not
explain
per
obscurius.
It
is
not
indeed
remark-
able that
&dquo;men
see
what
they
want
to
see.&dquo;
However,
reality
defeats
them
and
re-
shapes
them.
Earlier
chapters
are
concerned
with
symbols
and
political
quiescence,
the
Ad-
ministrative
System
as
symbol,
the
symbolic
uses
of
political
leadership,
persistence
and
change
in
political
goals,
and
language
and
the
perception
of
politics.
In
this
last
the
cast
of
argument
used
by
the
author
is
well
illustrated.,
only
the
log-rollers
emerge
as
the
wise
guys.
There
is
a
remark
by
Alberto
Moravia
which
seems
to
me
relevant:
&dquo;Machiavellianism
is
a
deformation
of
politics
in
exactly
the
same
way
as
sadism
is
a
deformation
of
love.&dquo;
This
is
a
cautionary
tale
for
aspiring
political
scientists.
GEORGE
E.
G.
CATLIN
London,
England
Religion in
American
Public
Law.
By
DAVID
FELLMAN.
(Boston:
Boston
University
Press,
1965.
Pp.
113,
$4.50.)
David
Fellman,
one
of
the
more
prolific
writers
in
the
field
of
Public
Law,
has
come
out
with
a
new
study
which
sheds
light
on
the
controversial
issue
of
religious
freedom
in
American
Public
Law.
This
brief
book
is
a
compilation
of
the
ideas
which
Fellman
presented
while
delivering
the
Gaspar
G.
Bacon
lectures
on
the
Con-
stitution
of
the
United
States
at
Boston
University.
In
essence,
Fellman
is
simply
attempting
to
present
his
readers
with
an
adequate
background
so
that
they
can
discuss
the
problem
of
religious
freedom
in
a
more
intelligent
fashion.
His
goal
is
to
provide
a
firm
understanding
of
the
issues
by
making
the
layman
and
scholar
aware
of
the
law
as
it
has
evolved
through
state
and
federal
judicial
decisions.
To
this
end,
he
is
extremely
successful.
Fellman
initiates
his
presentation
with
a
basic
review
of
the
traditional
argu-
ments
supporting
religious
freedom
and
the
concept
of
separation
of
church
and
state.
He
then
moves
to
the
more
important
discussion
of
the
non-absolutist
char-
acter
of
the
First
Amendment
freedom.
Here
he
crystallizes
the
great
problems
which
the
courts
have
encountered
in
their
attempt
to
maintain
the
wall
of
separation
while
at
the
same
time
wrestle
with
the
historical
development
of
close
church-state
ties.
Problems
of
tax
exemption,
draft
exemption,
police
and
fire
protection
for
religious
institutions,
all
have
become
accepted
policies
which
have
bridged
the
legal
wall
of
separation
between
church
and
state.
This
quite
obviously
poses
a
rather
grave
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